Top Tips #9

Something very odd has happened here. I noticed that the admin side of blogger changed recently and it seems it took my top tips about portraits away with it. I shall re-write and report very soon.

That has made me lose my stride. Never mind, sure I can remember what I said.

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New love

Last night I met the Man of my dreams.

Got to stand next to him most of the evening.

Got to get my hands around him.

Got to put him through his paces.

Got to play with his legs - they go at right angles.

Marvelled at how much easier it is to use his joystick head.

He has opened up so many possibilities for me ...

Have you guessed yet?

I've met my Man, I've met a Man that will make my life easier and will help open up areas I have been reluctant to explore.

I've met my Manfrotto.

322rc2 Joystick friction grip - a joy to hold!

055xProB legs - legs that can do this are very useful

Quick look online shows that this Man is probably going to cost me about £250 but it will be well worth it as currently I hate my tripod so much I never use it. However this was a joy to use (possibly because of the joystick head - never has something been so aptly named). Will check out the business coffers this afternoon and see if it's something it can afford to buy me.

Sigh <3

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Excellence Awards

Have arrived at the venue for the Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Staff Excellence Awards evening. The fully repaired, tried and tested Canon 300D is set up on the tallest tripod I have got and it is happily capturing an image every 30 seconds as the room for the event transforms into the spectacle it will be.

The meet and greet area has been set up with a backdrop of 9 feet of light blue curtain which we have framed with balloons on one side and an artificial plant on the other.

Now all we need is for the room to really start changing - the balloons and table decorations are in, next the tables will be set and the star light cloth will be switched on. And then the people, 270 people will be arriving.

Should be fun.

Team work - the backdrop is tested out!

Update:

The camera kept going for 7 hours capturing approx 830 images. Fingers crossed it got the transformation and everyone arriving. Had immense fun offering portrait shots in the meet and greet area - particularly to the award winners.

So many happy smiling faces.

Had a wonderful time and thanks to the team for generously catering for us and to Alan who has helped me understand more about people management at events like this.

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Clear night for ...networking

After cloudy nights hampering my chance to capture the ISS again I was delighted to see a sunny day today, which bode well for a clear star filled night. However I was trying out a new networking event. This time with fellow creatives. Very interesting. Hatch'd at Quad in Derby. I may have even received a commission - brilliant. But all this meant I was not able to get out with my camera.

Encouraged to attend this meeting by the delightful Tilley from Red Door Studios. Great chance for us to catch up with each other and discuss our current projects. Useful advice and support given and very gratefully received. Hoping to attend again next month and get some other creative people interested, here's hoping that Michele from Redroo Creatives is feeling better and comes along with us.

Signed up to get involved with Director Marinella Senatore who is producing Derby Soap Opera - the world's largest film. It will be a fascinating project to be involved with.

I may not have captured the ISS this evening but I have had a really rather splendid time networking and caught glimpses of Venus and Jupiter whilst we were driving up and down the A38.

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Cloudy evening

Nothing to show from last night as the cloud cover hampered any possible thoughts of a capture. However I have sparked a bit of interest about ISS.

 

If you are interested then I don't mind sharing where I get my information from. The first key to getting to see the ISS is finding out when its orbit will take it near you and where in the night sky you will see it. There are many websites to help - here are some I use:

• ISSTracker.com
• heavens-above.com
• Guardian.co.uk - the science/spacewatch section of their website has useful and interesting information.

 

Have fun sky watchers and send me an email with your experiences/experiments.

 

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